Leading Democratic Senator Christopher J. Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, will announce Wednesday that he is retiring, NBC News has learned.

It is likely that once Dodd announces his decision, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told CNBC he will run for Dodd’s former Senate seat, but Blumenthal stopped short of formally announcing his candidacy.

Blumenthal said he would have supported Dodd had he opted to run again, but he declined to say whether he had spoken to officials at the White House.

Dodd plans to continue heading efforts to pass financial regulatory reform legislation this year despite his announced retirement from the Senate a source close to Dodd said Wednesday. “He will see it through,” said the source, who asked not to be identified.…Over the years, the Connecticut senator has raised millions of dollars from employees of Wall Street firms.

I just skimmed this story, but I didn’t see it mention any of the “appearances of impropriety” surrounding Dodd. (NPR wasn’t afraid to “go there” in their story, gee whiz.)

I don’t know what the odds are of Peter Schiff getting the Republican nomination, but I do think Dodd’s campaign staff didn’t like that particular scenario. Regardless of the Democratic nominee, if Schiff is in the final race I think he should spend 75% of his funds just running clips from his TV appearances* calling the bubble. He doesn’t even need to campaign on a platform, just look at the camera and say, “Never again. Not on my watch.”

* BTW I watched a few seconds of that YouTube link to make sure it was a decent one, and you will fall out of your chair in the first few moments when some analyst bites Schiff’s head off for doubting that the US in 2006 was experiencing phenomenal productivity growth. You won’t believe the example she uses, when she is actually offended at his pessimism. Check it out.